The Husband In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Within modern day society, there are many people who have eyesight cannot “see.” This sad truth is reflected within the husband who cannot connect with his wife because he displays a lack of insight. As the protagonist of the short story Cathedral, the husband had to undergo a certain change within the story in order to connect with his wife, who actually tends to be the antagonist. Through the usage of the husband’s language, behavior, and interaction with other characters–the author, Raymond Carver proves that it is possible to “see” once one accepts change. Within the beginning of Cathedral, the narrator who happens to be the husband, starts to describe his wife’s friendship with a blind man known as Robert. This blind man and the wife had something the husband’s marriage lacked–communication. He could not understand how the blind man Robert was able to marry, have sex and sleep together with his wife, Beulah. The husband started felt sorry for Robert: Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved ones (Carter 262). However, he was simply assuming that looking at Beulah mattered

As soon as the narrator gathers the items to create the drawing of the cathedral, the blind man closed his hand over the narrator's hand as the narrator began to draw. The narrator was already able to put himself in the shoes of Robert before drawing, and through drawing the cathedral, he empathized with the blind man to the point where he finally understood how the blind man was able to see without his eyesight. The narrator had finally awakened his true eyesight, and when Robert told him he could open his eyes, the narrator did not open his eyes, because he realized there was no need for him to open his eyes when he could already picture the cathedral he drew within his